


Undercover

by houdini74



Category: Schitt's Creek
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - Different First Meeting, Fluff and Humor, Happy Ending, Light Angst, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-25
Updated: 2019-05-25
Packaged: 2020-03-17 05:40:35
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 8,761
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18959002
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/houdini74/pseuds/houdini74
Summary: AU where the Roses keep their money and Johnny sends David and Alexis to Schitt's Creek to investigate a proposal from a cute store owner.





	Undercover

**Author's Note:**

> I intended this to be a silly thing with David and Alexis as the worst undercover agents ever, but it accidentally took an angsty turn in the middle.

David sat in the reception area of his dad’s office, scrolling through his phone and watching his sister flirt with Marcus, his dad’s new Executive Assistant. Judging by the terrified look on Marcus’s face, he might not last any longer than the previous ones had. He kind of thought that Alexis was probably wasting her time since he thought Marcus was gay, but clean cut guys in button down shirts weren’t really his type, so he hadn’t investigated further.

The phone on Marcus’s desk chirped. “You can go in now.” His relief was palpable.

They’d been summoned last night by an urgent request to meet at their dad’s office first thing this morning. It was much too early for this kind of thing, he’d been up until three and now it was barely ten o’clock. He yawned and looked over at Alexis.

“Do you know why we’re here?” 

She shook her head, distracted by whatever was going on on her phone. 

“Kids!” Their dad looked the same as he always did, his expensive suit was immaculate. “We have something very important to discuss.”

“If this is about the ransom money you sent when I was in Egypt, I’m like 75% sure that money is not being used to prop up a nasty dictator despite what the tabloids are saying.” 

“When were you in Egypt?” His dad was horrified. David shrugged to himself. Neither of them knew that he’d been the one to send Alexis the money she needed.

“And I needed to spend all that money in New York. I had to have the complete Givenchy spring collection.”

“How many black and white sweaters do you need?” Their dad had the look on his face that he got when he was particularly puzzled by their behaviour.

“Anyway. It’s not about either of those things. It’s time for both of you to give something back to Rose Video.”

“Ew!”

“Yeah, I’m definitely not interested in that.” 

The idea of being involved with the operations of Rose Video, with its video game sales and software development was worse than that day his parents had forced him to work at the GAP because they thought it would build character. At least they didn’t actually rent videos anymore, but the thought of having anything to do with video games was revolting.

“Listen kids, all of this will be yours one day and it’s time you started pulling your weight around here.”

“What weight?”

“Are you saying we should go to the gym?”

“No. It’s just an expression.” Their dad was becoming increasingly exasperated. 

“Okay, well you should just say what you mean then.”

“We have a situation that’s come up.” His dad pulled a folder from his desk and handed it to him. Beside him, Alexis leaned over to read over his shoulder. He was even more confused. Someone named Patrick Brewer wanted permission to redevelop the Main Street in some town he’d never heard of. 

“Okay, why do we care about something that’s happening in a place called...Schitt’s Creek? Is this a joke?” 

“We own that town. Remember? I bought it for you for your birthday. I have to approve any projects that happen there.”

“Okay, so approve the project then. I assume you need me to sign something?” He couldn’t understand why they were still talking about this.

“It’s not that simple. I want to develop that town as the new location of the Rose Video corporate headquarters, but we can’t do that if this other project takes off.”

“So turn it down, then.”

“I’ve never heard of this Patrick Brewer before, I need you two to go Schitt’s Creek and find out how much trouble he’s going to be.”

“What? No.”

“Absolutely not.”

“If you two want to spend anymore time being kidnapped by drug lords or buying new sweaters, you’re going to have to do this first. So pack your bags, I want you there by next week.”

***

“David.” Alexis was sitting on the edge of his bed, filing her nails. 

“What?!” As usual she was in the way, he was trying to spread out his clothes to decide which were the best outfits to take on this ridiculous trip their dad was making them go on. “Can you move, please?”

Alexis stayed where she was. “If we’re going to find out any information for dad, we’re going to need to invent a cover story.”

“Why would we need to do that?”

“Because, David. No one will talk to us if they know that we’re connected to Rose Video. This is like an undercover mission, like we’re secret agents or something.”

“I’m pretty sure we’re not secret agents.” She wasn’t wrong, they needed to be able to give a reason why they were in Schitt’s Creek. He couldn’t imagine there would be crowds of visitors for them to get lost in.

“And, we’ll need an undercover look so that we blend in.”

He rolled his eyes at her.

“And different names and identities.”

“We’re not going to spy school. This is a weekend trip at best!” He set a stack of sweaters on the bed so that he could look through them.

“Then why are you packing twenty different outfits?”

“I need options!”

In the end he decided Alexis was right. He filled his two largest suitcases with his least flamboyant clothes. He was debating on whether or not he should bring an extra Balenciaga sweater just to be safe when his dad came in.

“Now David, it’s very important that no one knows why you’re there. What are you going to tell people when they ask?”

“I’m going to tell them you sent me.” He grabbed his black-framed glasses off of his dresser. They probably weren’t what Alexis had had in mind when she said they needed a disguise but they would have to do.

“No, you have to have a reason that you want to be there.”

“I don’t want to be there.”

“David…”

“Fine. It’s a five hour drive. We’ll think of something on the way.”

***

He and Alexis had been standing in front of the store for ten minutes, arguing about whether or not to go in. It was by far the most interesting place they’d seen in this awful town. But the rundown garage across the street wasn’t helping the store’s aesthetic and the neighboring cafe looked adequate at best. He wasn’t sure why his dad was determined to turn down Patrick Brewer’s proposal, it was clear that the town desperately needed a facelift.

In an effort to fit in, he had chosen to wear a white t-shirt with his black leather jacket and his Rick Owens pants and shoes. He was wishing that he hadn’t decided to wear his glasses, they kept sliding down his nose and he felt like he was back in sixth grade every time he pushed them back up. Beside him, Alexis was wearing the patterned festival dress that she’d worn to Coachella last year. He wasn’t sure that either of them were blending in as well as they should be.

“Are they trolling us?”

“I don’t know Alexis, I’ve never been here before!” 

“It’s just really weird.” They both stared at the name over the door of the store.

“We should go in.” Neither of them moved. “Are you sure remember the story we agreed on?”

“Yes, David!”

“Fine.” He marched across the street, not caring if Alexis was following or not and opened the door to the store. A bell over the door rang. 

If he had a store, this is what he would have wanted it to look like. Shelves filled with handmade bath products and windows filled with herbs and plants. It just needed a little something. He wandered towards the back corner, reading the labels as he went, stopping in front of a shelf filled with bottles of moisturizer. Reaching out, he began to straighten the bottles on the shelf so that all the labels faced towards the front.

“Good morning. Let me know if you have any questions.” The man who spoke was probably in his early thirties, he gave David a friendly smile that lit up his eyes.

“Thanks.” 

He couldn’t help but straighten the last few bottles in that section. That was better. He looked up to see the store owner watching him. He was cute in a small town kind of way, the dark blue button down shirt wasn’t an avant-garde fashion choice, but the color brought out the reddish highlights in his hair. If it was just a little longer it would be the perfect length for someone to run their fingers through as they kissed him. David realized he was staring and pulled his attention to his sister, who had joined him in the back corner of the store.

“You have to ask him about the name!” She was trying to be quiet, but David had a feeling the other man could still hear them.

“Ask him yourself.”

“No, you ask him.” He wasn’t sure why Alexis was so resistant to talking to the owner, usually she was more than happy to flirt with anyone who might be interested. With a sigh, he headed towards the front of the store. The lip balms beside the register were even more badly displayed than the moisturizer had been. He began to put them into rows.

“I was curious about...um...the name of your store.”

“Oh, well, an apothecary is like a general store or a pharmacy. I know it’s a little pretentious, but I wanted something that would stand out.”

“Okay.” There was a long pause. “And the other part of the name?”

“Um...roses are a type of flower?” The store owner sounded very confused. “My...um…mom suggested them?”

“Oh, right.” So the name was just a coincidence, not some attempt to curry favor with the Rose family. Not like that time they’d gone on vacation to that town on the coast of Maine and all the townspeople had worn rose lapel pins the entire time they were there. He placed the last of the lip balms into a nice neat row. 

“Would you like to rearrange all of my inventory?” The owner was giving him an amused look.

“Can I?” He pulled his hands back and stuck them in his pockets to keep from starting on the breath mints. The other man laughed.

“I wasn’t counting on free help today, but don’t let me stop you.” He held out a hand. “I’m Patrick, Patrick Brewer.”

“David. That’s my sister, Alexis.” He gestured to where Alexis was trying out one of the essential oils. 

Damn it. When his dad had said to find out about Patrick Brewer, he’d assumed he’d be looking for a middle-aged businessman with a beer belly. Not a cute guy in his thirties with confident brown eyes and an easy smile to match. His eyes were drawn to the fullness of Patrick’s lips. He could imagine what they would feel like pressed to his own. He looked away. On the other side of the room he could see Alexis had moved on to sampling one of the jars of hand cream.

“Are you visiting from out of town?”

“Yes, we’re working,” Alexis stretched out the word like she’d never used it before. “Working, that’s what we’re doing.”

“What are you in town for, then?”

“We’re journalists.”

“We’re tour guides.”

They spoke at the same time. He rolled his eyes at Alexis, hoping the store owner couldn’t see him. He couldn’t believe that Alexis had messed this up after they’d gone over it fifteen times in the car on the way here.

“We’re...um...tour guides who have a blog about the things we tour...people on?”

“And you’ve included Schitt’s Creek in your latest tour?”

“Uh huh.”

“Yes. Yup.” Maybe this hadn’t been the best idea. His glasses were sliding down again and he pushed them back up irritably. 

“Huh.”

None of them seemed to know what to say after that. David stared at the breath mints. He wanted to shift them to the end of the counter so they didn’t distract from the lip balms. He clenched his hands in his pockets. 

“We should go and check in at our motel. Do you know if they have a spa?”

***

So far, everything about this trip had been as horrifying as he thought it would be. He and Alexis ended up having to share one of the rooms at the motel, which definitely did not have a spa. That would have been bad enough, but the state of the room was even worse than that time he’d stayed over at Ashlee Simpson’s place the week her maid quit. 

He had pulled the entire contents of his bags out onto his bed and was searching through them when Alexis came out of the bathroom.

“Oh my god, David. What are you doing?”

“Did you take my eye cream?”

“No, I didn’t take your eye cream. Do I look like I’m thirty?”

“It’s preventative!” He must have forgotten to pack it. He stared at the pile of things on his bed in frustration.

“Maybe that Patrick person has some at his store.” With a shrug, his sister left the motel room, closing the door sharply behind her. 

He couldn’t admit it to himself, but he was happy to have an excuse to see Patrick again. If nothing else, it was what his dad would want him to do, to find out more about Patrick and his store. 

“Couldn’t stay away?” Patrick’s brown eyes were just as he remembered, soft and warm and looking at him with amusement.

“Do you sell eye cream?”

“I do sell that. I have an eucalyptus eye cream that one of my suppliers makes.”

Patrick picked up a jar of the eye cream from one of the shelves at the back of the store and handed it to him, their fingers brushed accidentally and it felt like a spark jumped between them. He quickly pulled the jar away from Patrick’s hand and opened it. It smelled amazing and he was pleased to see it wasn’t runny like some of the low-end products were.

He liked this store even better than he had yesterday, but there was something missing, almost like it wasn’t quite finished. 

“You know, if you put some art on that back wall it would give people a good first impression when they come in.”

“Yesterday you rearrange my inventory, now you’re decorating. Are you looking for a job?” 

He couldn’t tell from his tone whether Patrick was joking, but he looked up to see a grin on the other man’s face. 

“Think of it as a professional consultation.”

“Mmm. Any other suggestions you have for my store?” Patrick rang up his eye cream and put it in a small cloth bag.

“I could probably come up with a list of things.”

“Oh, a list.” Patrick smirked at him as he leaned against the counter. “Tell you what. Why don’t you come back tomorrow with your list of things that are wrong with my store?”

He wanted to kiss Patrick. He wanted to kiss him until the sassy look on his face was replaced with something needy and aroused. He wasn’t sure what to do about the fact that he liked Patrick. Really liked him. Like it or not, he had a crush on a guy who wore mid-range denim jeans and had a business degree. 

He knew he should be trying to extract information from Patrick for his dad, but mostly he was interested in getting to know him better. He’d never met anyone like Patrick before. Patrick made him laugh and when he’d woken up this morning, his first thought had been about finding an excuse to come to the store to see him again. Maybe it was being out of the city or the fact that Patrick didn’t know who he was, didn’t know about his history or his money that made this different. But he thought that part of if was the simple confidence that Patrick seemed to have. His ability to know what he wanted was intoxicating, especially to someone like himself who had trouble deciding what to wear every morning. 

They really needed to wrap this thing up and head back to the city before he did something he regretted.

He went to meet Alexis at the cafe. The motel room had been bad enough, but he’d nearly walked out after the first time he saw the menu in the cafe. The fact that it was so extensive in no way made up for the fact that his palette would likely never recover from being subjected to this much bland, tasteless food. 

“Where have you been?” Alexis was at least fifteen minutes late.

“I ran into the cutest vet. I think he must be like an animal vet because he didn’t have any scars or anything?”

“Okay, well, I think we need to leave.”

“I just got here. I haven’t even ordered yet.”

“Not leave the cafe. I think we need to leave Schitt’s Creek.”

“We can’t leave yet, dad would have a fit. Why do you want to leave anyway? I thought you were starting to get somewhere with Patrick.”

“That’s why we need to leave.”

“Oh my god. You like him. Like, _like him_ , like him.”

“He’s not my type.” Alexis saw through him instantly.

“He’s a cute guy who’s into you. Of course he’s your type.”

“He’s not into me. He’s just really nice. He’s probably nice to everyone.”

“David, I was in there earlier this morning. When I tried to flirt with him, he asked me if I was feeling okay. And then he made me pay for the hand cream I sampled. And he asked about you. He’s definitely into you.”

“Okay.” His fucking glasses were sliding down again. He pushed them back up.

His sister tapped the top of the table with a perfectly manicured fingernail. “This is not good, David. It’s like you’re consorting with the enemy.”

“Okay, we’re not consorting. And I know it’s not good. That’s why l think we should leave.” 

“Well, good luck explaining that to dad. You know what he’ll think.”

He did know what his dad would think. He would think what he always thought, that David needed to focus on the matter at hand instead of a certain shop owner with toffee-colored brown eyes and kissable lips.

Eventually Alexis headed back to the motel. He sat in the booth at the cafe, trying to come up with a list of things he could tell his dad that would get them freed from this nightmare, but instead he found himself jotting down the list of improvements that Patrick could make at the store. 

“Can I join you?” 

Patrick stood in front of him. He gestured at the empty booth.

“Is that a list of tour ideas?”

He’d forgotten all about the story they’d told about why they were in Schitt’s Creek. “Kind of.” He closed his journal, hoping that Patrick wouldn’t have any follow up questions.

“You know, there’s a great hike just outside of town. I’d be happy to take you this weekend if you’re interested.” 

“Um…” he very badly wanted to spend time with Patrick this weekend, but his conversation with Alexis was fresh in his mind. Plus, the idea of hiking anywhere was a bit off-putting. 

“I’m not sure we’ll still be here this weekend.”

He could see the disappointment in Patrick’s face. 

“Hiking probably isn’t your thing, anyway.”

“Maybe we could do something else if I’m still around?” The smile lit up Patrick’s face, making the corners of his eyes crinkle.

***

He thought that Patrick had probably been joking about having him make suggestions for the store but he headed down there anyway, wanting to see Patrick again. He couldn’t stop thinking about the curve of Patrick’s lips when he laughed or the confident set of his shoulders. He opened the door to the store and Patrick looked up from the front counter as the bell over the door rang.

“Okay. I love this store, I love the products, I love the aesthetic,” he said in a rush. “I love…” he stopped, realizing he’d been about to include Patrick in the things he loved about the store. “...all this,” he finished instead. “There are just a few things that are...incorrect.”

“Oh...incorrect.” Patrick tilted his head and narrowed his eyes at him.

“You need some nice baskets to display things. And why aren’t all the skin care products together? And all the labels should face towards the front. And you need to move those breath mints!” He paused, slightly out of breath. “Not that I’ve given it much thought.”

Patrick started to laugh. “Good to know. But if you want me to do those things, you’re going to have to help.”

A smile spread slowly across his face. “Okay.”

Patrick convinced him that the baskets would have to wait since nowhere in Schitt’s Creek sold such a thing, so they began by rearranging the products so that they flowed more naturally from the front of the store. There were a number of items that David insisted needed to be removed from the main sales floor, he was on his third trip to move the plungers into the back room when he nearly ran into Patrick in the doorway.

Patrick reached out a hand to steady himself, briefly grasping David’s shoulder. Before he could think about it, he stepped a half step closer and leaned in to kiss Patrick gently. He felt the other man go still for a moment before he responded, kissing David in return. His lips were soft and David could feel a desire to explore humming beneath their kiss. 

He pulled away, dropping the hand he had placed at the back of Patrick’s neck. He wasn’t sure what had possessed him to kiss Patrick. He was lying to him every time they spoke and it wasn’t like he was staying here any longer than he had to. Plus Patrick didn’t seem like the kind of guy to fall into a short-term fling without a second thought.

“I should...I should go back to the motel.” He knew he was panicking and that he sounded too abrupt, but if he didn’t leave, he wasn’t sure where things might end up. 

Patrick’s eyes were wide and he was smiling at him softly. “Okay.” Patrick leaned up to peck him on the lips. “Talk to you tomorrow?”

He nodded. “Yeah. Yes.”

***

He slept in until ten the next morning. When he woke up, Alexis was gone. He laid in bed for a moment, trying to recall what was different, why he didn’t feel the same urgency to go back to the city. Then he remembered, he’d kissed Patrick yesterday. With a smile, he headed for the bathroom, thinking about the press of Patrick’s lips, wanting more. He’d just gotten out of the shower and was finishing his morning skin care routine when his phone buzzed with a call from his dad. He put it on speaker so he could finish moisturizing. 

“What?”

“David, I’m just calling to see how you’re making out.” His dad’s voice was tinny over the speakerphone.

“Fine.” 

“Have you learned anything?”

“Well, I’ve learned that everyone here wears plaid and no one knows anything about proper fashion and the nearest quality restaurant is 45 minutes away.”

“I meant have you learned more about this Patrick Brewer.”

“Yeah, we’ve met.” A nervous thrill grew in his stomach when he heard Patrick’s name. But he didn’t want to talk about Patrick, especially not with his dad.

“And? You know the future of Rose Video could rest on what you find out.”

“That seems a bit much.”

“David…”

“I don’t know what you want me to say. I haven’t learned anything more than what was in that proposal that you showed me.” He finished with the moisturizer and examined his face in the mirror before putting his glasses on.

“Okay, David. Well, keep me posted. Remember, you have to stay there until we figure this thing out.” ‘We’? He mouthed at the phone, but his dad had already hung up.

Someone cleared their throat, making him jump. He looked up to see Stevie, the deeply sarcastic woman who ran the motel and who refused to bring him more towels, leaning against the door of the adjoining room.

“You know, if you’re going to hold secret phone conversations you should check to make sure no one is in the other room.”

“What are you doing here?” This was really bad. He didn’t want Patrick to find out what he was up to, especially not after last night.

“Changing the sheets. This is a motel, it’s a service we provide.”

“It’s like the only service you provide.” There was a long silence as they stared at each other. Afraid he knew the answer, he had to ask. “What are you going to do now?”

“I’m trying to decide what will be more fun for me. Ratting you out to Patrick or keeping your secret in exchange for some small...favours.”

“Please don’t tell him.” He hated how faint his voice sounded

 

Stevie was quiet, considering her options 

“You’re right. If I tell him now, the fun’s over. It’s much better to drag this out and make you squirm. You can start by buying me lunch. It’s not like you’re not good for it.”

The worst part was that under other circumstances, he would have liked Stevie. Not the way he liked Patrick, but she was funny in a dark and cutting way that appealed to him. Of course, the fact that she was blackmailing him put a bit of a damper on his positive feelings towards her, especially when Patrick came up to their table at the cafe.

“David. Stevie.” Patrick was clearly surprised to see them together. Which, given the circumstances, was a reasonable reaction. “I didn’t expect to see you here.”

“David’s just buying me lunch.” Stevie reached out and patted David’s hand gently. He glared at her and tried to pull his hand away, stopping short when she gave his fingers a warning squeeze. The color drained out of Patrick’s face and a hurt look crossed his face.

“I see...well...enjoy your lunch.” He turned and left, forgetting the takeout order that Twyla had prepared for him.

“You’re going too far.” He glared at Stevie, pulling his hand away now that Patrick had left the cafe.

“Am I? Do you think he’s going to be less hurt when he finds out that you’re a traitor sent here by your father?”

Eventually, Stevie grew tired of tormenting him and headed back to the motel. He sat in the booth, feeling the pull of the store in the back of his mind like an itch that he couldn’t scratch. He desperately wanted to see Patrick, to explain, but the secret of why he was really in Schitt’s Creek stopped on him. He slid out of the booth and started to walk across the street to the store, before turning around halfway and heading back to the cafe.

“Do you have Patrick’s order?” Twyla was cleaning the counter. She reached behind her to hand him a takeout box.

He returned to the store. Patrick was standing behind the counter, flipping through some papers. He set the box in front of him.

“You forgot this.” A few of the lip balms were out of alignment. He nudged them back into an even row with the others. Patrick hadn’t said anything, he was staring at David with a perplexed look on his face. He could feel something crackling in the air between them. It was too much. He didn’t know why he had come. He took a half step back.

“I should go.” He turned and quickly went to the door. 

“David.” Patrick’s voice was soft and he looked back. “Thank you.”

He nodded, just once, and opened the door.

***

He tried to text Alexis, not sure where she’d been all day, but there was no answer. Frustrated, he threw himself into one of the patio chairs in front of the cafe. He took his glasses off and rubbed his eyes. He didn’t want to go back to the motel in case he ran into Stevie. He stared at the store across the street, both craving and dreading that Patrick would come out and find him here. What had happened with Patrick was no different than any of his other failed relationships. There was no reason not to head back to the city without a second thought. So why did he feel like he’d lost something that he’d never even had?

As his thoughts were winding around themselves, one of the chairs scraped on the decking and a plaid-covered beer belly lowered itself into David’s sight line. 

“You know, Dave, your dad’s not going to be too happy to hear that you didn’t pay your respects to the mayor when you got into town.”

“I’m sorry, who are you?” He couldn’t believe he was talking to someone whose last haircut had clearly been done by a razor-wielding monkey.

“Roland Schitt, Mayor of Schitt’s Creek. I’m surprised your dad didn’t talk about me.”

“No, I’d have remembered if he’d mentioned you.” 

“Okay, pal. Just remember that I’m here for anything you need to help preserve your dad’s little tax scheme.”

“I’m sorry. Tax scheme?” Either the mayor was very confused or his dad had been holding something back when he’d sent them here.

“You know, about keeping the town in its current...state so that your old man keeps getting the tax break he’s been getting.”

“I see.” He did, too. His dad would have known that they would have refused to come here for a bunch of tax breaks, so he’d invented a story about the future headquarters of Rose Video. Suddenly, he wanted to tell Patrick everything. Except if he did that, Patrick would hate him even more than he probably did already.

***

Alexis finally texted him back to say that she was going to a club with Twyla and that he was welcome to join them. He assumed she meant the seedy-looking bar that they’d passed on the way into town and decided to head back to the motel instead. Hopefully Stevie would have gone home for the night.

He paced around the room for awhile, not wanting to touch anything that he didn’t have to. Finally, he laid down on the bed and stared at the ceiling, thinking about Patrick. He didn’t know why he cared about how Patrick felt. Last week he would have happily carried on a relationship with both Patrick and Stevie without a second thought, bidding good riddance to either of them if they hadn’t liked it. But now he couldn’t stop thinking about Patrick’s smile after he’d kissed him and how wounded he’d looked when he’d seen David and Stevie together.

He didn’t know what to do. He wanted to go to Patrick and tell him everything, but he was pretty sure he would take the revelation that he was Johnny Rose’s son pretty badly. He pulled the pillow over his face in frustration. There was a knock at the door. Hoping it wasn’t Stevie, he went to open it.

He opened it to find Patrick standing in front of him holding a pizza and a bottle of wine. 

“I think I should apologize.” Patrick held out the bottle of wine.

“Okay?” People never apologized to him. Usually, they viewed the fact that they’d hurt him as a bonus instead of something to be ashamed about. Plus, he wasn’t entirely sure that he shouldn’t be the one apologizing to Patrick.

“I think I leapt to a conclusion about you and Stevie today. And it’s not like...it’s not like I have any right to say anything either way.” Patrick was suddenly very interested in the top of the pizza box. David held the door open so that he could come in.

“What if...what if I wanted you to have that right?” He didn’t know what he was doing, he had a lost, floaty feeling that he’d never had before. Hoping to quiet the butterflies in his stomach, he turned away to put the wine on the table at the back of the room, searching for suitable glasses. He knew that Stevie would go out of her way to make this hard for him, but he didn’t care. “And believe me, there’s nothing going on between me and Stevie.” 

“Okay…” He turned around to find that Patrick had followed him behind him. Without thinking, he put his hands on Patrick’s shoulders, squeezing gently. Patrick stepped closer to him. “Anyway, I was thinking, that if you wanted to, you could maybe come by the store again tomorrow?”

He couldn’t keep the smile off of his face. Why did Patrick affect him like this? It was ridiculous. He’d been around the block enough times that a small town shopkeeper shouldn’t make him feel tingly inside, even if he did have coffee-colored brown eyes. “I’d like that.”

This time, Patrick leaned up to kiss him. If their first kiss had been new and sweet, this one held a hint of a promise of what might come. Even though rushing into things until they fell apart was his usual approach to new relationships, he suddenly wanted to savour whatever this was. He broke away from the kiss and tipped his forehead against Patrick’s. “I thought I saw a pizza when you came in?”

They finished the pizza and the wine and spent the rest of the evening curled up together on David’s tiny bed, watching Miss Congeniality on TV. Even with the static and the commercials, it was still one of his favorites, but the irony of watching Sandra Bullock pretend to be someone else while he sat with Patrick in his arms wasn’t lost on him. Wanting to chase away that thought, he nuzzled the back of Patrick’s neck, he could smell his citrus shampoo and feel the short hairs tickling his nose. He pressed a kiss to the crook of his shoulder, humming happily as Patrick leaned back against him. It suddenly struck him that he’d never been as happy as he was, here in this rundown motel, watching a staticy television with a man he’d just met a few days before.

***

At the store, he kissed Patrick hello and they set to work organizing the inventory. They were just about to take a break when the bell over the door rang and Stevie came into the store. She was wearing one of the David’s favorite shirts that she’d demanded as her latest payment to keep his secret. David’s heart sank. 

“Hi Stevie.”

“Hello Patrick.” Stevie ignored him. David didn’t know whether to be worried or grateful. As much as he loved his clothes, he would have given her every piece of clothing he’d brought with him as long as it meant she never told Patrick who he really was.

“I need to order more of the moisturizer for the motel. For some reason we’ve gone through more than usual this week.” Stevie turned a pointed glance towards David. He grimaced at her and looked studiously at the sweater he was folding. Patrick went into the back where he kept the sample sets of the products Stevie ordered for the motel. When he was out of sight, Stevie turned to David, her eyes narrowed.

“You’d better be careful. Patrick’s important to me and I don’t want him to get hurt.”

He didn’t have time to respond before Patrick emerged from the back, carrying a box that he handed to Stevie.

“Did you get a response to your letter to Rose Video?”

A wave of anxiety flowed over him. Stevie was clearly going to reveal his secret to Patrick. The brief moment of happiness that they’d enjoyed together would soon be over. 

“Not yet.”

“Hmm. You don’t suppose they’d send some sort of advance scouting team to check things out before Mr Rose agreed to a meeting?” Stevie’s face was radiating innocence, but her eyes were narrowed at David.

“You’d think people like that would stand out in a place like this.” David stared at Patrick in disbelief. He was wearing his least obvious outfit today, but even he could tell that his geometric black and white sweater and the skin tight jeans were out of the ordinary for Schitt’s Creek.

“Yeah. You’d think.” Stevie rolled her eyes. “I should get back to the motel. David, maybe I’ll see you there later?” He could hear the threat in her voice.

“Maybe you will.” He grimaced at her, trying not to look too apprehensive so that Patrick wouldn’t notice. Without thinking, he pushed his glasses back up. 

He took a deep breath as Stevie left the store. He knew he should leave. He liked Patrick but he knew what was coming next, it was the same thing that always came next. At best, this had always been a short term thing anyway, a bit of fun before he headed back to the city. He could feel a trickle of sadness about the idea of leaving Patrick, of leaving this store that he was increasingly fond of, but he pushed it away.

While his thoughts had been spiralling, Patrick had come up beside him. “Wanna help me rearrange some of the boxes in the stock room?”

“Is that a euphemism for something? Because otherwise, I’m not generally into lifting heavy things.”

Patrick wrapped his hand around David’s wrist, tugging him gently towards the other room. He dropped his phone on the counter and followed him into the back. As soon as they were out of sight, Patrick pressed him up against the stack of boxes that were just inside the door, tucking his hands under David’s sweater and sliding them along his waist to touch the bare skin at the small of his back. He shivered and drew Patrick closer, gripping the back of his neck and kissing him, softly at first and then more thoroughly.

He could hear his phone buzzing on the counter, but he didn’t care. Patrick’s lips were chasing along his jawline. He tilted his head back to give Patrick a better angle, reaching a hand up and scratching his nails gently through the short hairs at the back of Patrick’s neck. 

“Never stop.” In response, Patrick’s teeth found his earlobe and tugged gently. He gasped, moving his hand into Patrick’s hair and pulling Patrick’s head around. His hand cupped the back of Patrick’s neck as he kissed him deeply. The bell over the door rang. 

“Fuck.” He leaned his forehead against Patrick’s. They were both panting slightly. 

“I think I need a minute.” Patrick’s voice was a little shaky. “Can you see if whoever that is needs something?”

“Okay.” He straightened his clothes and ducked around the curtain in the doorway only to come face to face with his father, who was standing with annoyed look on his face on the other side of the counter. A jolt of fear ran through his entire body.

“David, what are you doing here? I’ve been texting you.”

“Dad, what are you doing here?! You need to leave.”

“What’s going on?” Patrick had emerged from the back room. 

His dad looked back and forth between the two of them. “Oh, I see what you’re doing here. David, when I sent you here it wasn’t so that you could make new...friends.”

“What do you mean ‘sent you here’?” Patrick looked at David and then at his father. “Wait. You’re Johnny Rose, I’ve seen your photo on the Rose Video website.” He turned to David. “Johnny Rose is your father?” The hurt on Patrick’s face made David want to cry. He stared down at the counter, running his thumbnail along one of the cracks in the wood, silently wishing a hole would open in the floor that he could vanish into.

“David?” He could hear the tears threatening in Patrick’s voice as well.

“Patrick...I...I never meant for any of this to happen like this. Everything just got out of control.” He could feel Patrick staring at him, but he couldn’t look at him. He couldn’t bear to see the hurt look in his eyes and know that he’d put it there. 

“Are you Patrick Brewer? I got your letter.”

“Yeah. Yes, that’s me.” David could hear the ache that lingered in the back of Patrick’s voice. “Thank you for coming in person.”

“You know, I think your project is a good idea, but if I’m being honest, I have plans to redevelop this town myself, so that’s why I turned it down.”

David knew that Patrick would probably never speak to him again after what had just happened, but he couldn’t let his dad lie to him. 

“So this has nothing to do with the tax break?”

“What?”

“What?”

He couldn’t bear to look at Patrick so he kept his focus on his dad. “The tax break you get for keeping everything here rundown? Isn’t that why you really turned down Patrick’s proposal?”

“David.” His dad’s voice sounded the way it had the time he’d accidentally let Mary Kate and Ashley Olsen stay in their guest house for two months and they hadn’t been able to get rid of them.

“Dad. Tell him the truth. He deserves that from one of us, at least.” He picked up his phone and extracted himself from behind the store counter. As he moved past Patrick, he reached out a hand, pulling back just before he made contact with Patrick’s arm. “I have to go. I’m sorry.”

***

“David. Get out of bed.” Alexis tried to pull the covers off of his bed, but he held on too tightly for her. Maybe if he stayed in bed long enough he’d be able to erase the memory of Patrick’s face when he’d found about about his lies. 

“Go away.”

“You’re being so extra. We have to meet dad for breakfast.”

“I’m not going.” He pulled the covers over his head.

“Fine.” He heard the door slam and their car start moments later as she drove away.

He pressed his hands to his face. He could feel the faint burn on his cheek from Patrick’s stubble. He recalled the press of Patrick’s body against his, the uneven boxes behind him. The idea that he’d never again get to feel Patrick’s lips on his made him ill and sad and all of the things he hated. Even more than that, the thought of never again teasing him or seeing him laugh was ten times worse. He rolled over and pulled the pillow over his head.

An hour or so later, Stevie found him still in bed. He’d thought that he’d been through every bad break-up in the book, but none of them had felt as awful as this. All he could see was Patrick’s face when he’d found out that David had lied to him, looking like David had ripped out his heart and stomped on it. 

“I’m not going to lie, it makes me happy that you’re suffering.” She pulled the curtains open, ignoring his squawk of protest.

“Have you talked to Patrick?” 

“I’m not sure you deserve an answer to that question.”

He closed his eyes, hoping she would get sick of tormenting him and go away.

“Yeah, I’ve seen him. He looks about the same as you do, except unlike you, he has a business to run, so he actually had to get out of bed.”

He heard her sit on Alexis’s bed. “I need to know something. How did you think this would play out? Because if this was just a small town fling, it seems like it got away from you a bit.”

“No.” He didn’t want to talk about it. What did it matter how he had thought it might go? Even if he had secretly imagined that he and Patrick had something together, that clearly wasn’t the case any longer.

“No, what?” He wished she’d just leave him alone.

“No, it wasn’t just a fling. Patrick means more to me than that.”

“Okay.” She sounded thoughtful and he looked over at her, eyes narrowed. “I’m going to go talk to Patrick.” Abruptly, she got up and left, leaving him staring after her.

***

He’d managed to get dressed, which meant he was now lying on top of the covers instead of under them. There was a knock at the door. He wanted it to be Patrick. He would give away all of his family’s money if it was Patrick. Whoever it was knocked a second time.

“David? It’s me, Patrick. I think you owe me an explanation, if nothing else.”

Five seconds ago he would have given everything to see Patrick, but now he didn’t want to open the door. He wasn’t sure if he could face him, if he could manage to explain why he had lied to him. He got up and opened the door.

Stevie had been right, Patrick didn’t look like he’d slept either, his face was pale and there were dark circles under his eyes. David stood aside so that Patrick could come inside. He closed the door and stood awkwardly by the end of the bed, twisting the rings on his right hand. 

“I…”

“Um…”

“You go first.” He was too wound up to sit, he crossed his arms and looked at Patrick, who was sitting on the edge of Alexis’s bed.

“I assume you’ll be heading back to the city?”

He hadn’t really thought about it. The idea of leaving Patrick made his stomach clench. He looked away for a second. “I guess.” 

There was a long pause.

“So when you said you didn’t mean for things to happen they way they did, did you mean me finding out that you’d lied to me or did you mean something else?”

“None of the time we spent together was a lie. Not for me. Yes, I lied about why I came here, but getting to know you and the things we did together, that was real for me.” Patrick blushed a little and looked at the floor. “It wasn’t just so that I could report back to my dad. He’ll tell you that I was pretty much useless at that anyway.”

“Yeah, he did.” Patrick was quiet for a moment, staring at the floor. “Look, David. I knew when we got into this that you probably weren’t going to stick around. It’s not like you live here. So maybe it’s best if we just let things come to an end.”

“Is that what you want?” He swallowed the lump in his throat. “Because I don’t want that. I’ve never had anything like this before...I don’t...I don’t want to give that up...I don’t want to give you up. Not like this.” 

“I don’t know. I don’t know what I want.” Patrick was twisting his hands, he could see the indecision and hurt mixed together on his face. “You lied to me, David. You’re not who I thought you were. I need some time to think. Maybe you could stop by the store tomorrow?”

“Okay.” His voice was so quiet, he wasn’t sure that he’d said it out loud, but Patrick nodded and headed for the door. 

“And David? It was real for me too.” 

***

He couldn’t stop thinking about Patrick. He wanted to never think about Patrick again. He needed to find a way to stop this thoughts from tumbling end over end, to stop thinking about soft brown eyes and a quiet laugh and hair that wanted so badly to curl beneath his fingers. He was sitting on the bed with his head in his hands when Alexis came back from breakfast with their dad. 

“Why do you look so droopy? We finally get to go home.”

He should leave, he should go back to his apartment and his old life. Maybe a trip to Paris would be the distraction he needed to stop thinking about Patrick. But he didn’t want to leave. Not yet.

“I think I’m going to stay...for a bit.”

“Why David? Dad’s worked things out with that Patrick person so there’s no need for us to be here anymore.”

“Did he say what he worked out?”

“Something about approving his project? I don’t know, I wasn’t really listening. I have to pack up my stuff, if I go back with dad I can make it to Lindsay Lohan’s party tonight.”

At least Patrick had gotten his project approved. He hoped that forcing his dad to tell the truth had made a difference. He’d stay until tomorrow so that he could talk to Patrick one last time before heading back to the city.

***

He waited until the end of the day before heading to the store, wanting to give Patrick as much time as possible. When he got there, the store was still filled with customers. Patrick smiled at him as he came in, a genuine smile that he abruptly pulled back, as though he’d forgotten and then remembered that everything wasn’t okay between them. 

While he waited for the last of the customers to leave, he wandered around the sales floor, straightening the products that needed it. Finally, he heard Patrick flip the sign on the door and turn the lock. They stared at each other from across the store for a moment before Patrick started to make his way to the back where David was standing.

“So...um…Alexis says that my dad is going to approve your proposal.”

“Yes.” Patrick was looking at him intently and it was making him even more nervous.

“I’m glad. I know you worked hard on it and I think it will make a difference to this place and it’s not like my dad needs another tax break.”

Patrick was standing in front of him now. “David. Stop talking.” His voice was low and rough. Surprised, David pressed his lips together to keep more words from spilling out. Patrick reached out a hand and gently ran his fingers along David’s jaw before leaning in to kiss him softly. 

“Thank you for what you did the other day.”

David grimaced and looked away. “You mean for lying to you about who I was and passing information about you back to my dad?”

“No, I mean for standing up to your dad and making him tell the truth.” Patrick slipped his arms around his waist and leaned back to look him in the eyes. His chocolate brown eyes were tender. “After we talked yesterday, I wanted you to leave. But I couldn’t stop thinking about you. I don’t know what this is, but I want to try to find out.”

A warm, gooey feeling spread through him as he smiled at Patrick. “I’d like that. And I’m sorry I didn’t tell you who I was. By the time it mattered, I was in too deep and I couldn’t figure out how to get back out again.”

“I know.” Patrick kissed him again, his lips were soft. The last of the tension left David’s body as Patrick’s hand cupped his face. He ran his thumb along David’s cheek. Patrick’s fingers moved to tease the short hair at the back of his neck, making it hard for him to concentrate. Then Patrick was kissing him, his lips playful and curious. He kissed him back, nipping gently at his lower lip until Patrick’s lips parted. He made a small noise of protest when Patrick broke away from their kiss.

“Wait. Why aren’t you wearing your glasses?”

“Um...I usually wear contacts. The glasses were like a disguise so no one would recognize me.”

Patrick started to laugh. “You mean like Clark Kent?”

“I don’t know who that is.”

Patrick laughed harder. “Either way, I’m sure Sandra Bullock would be very proud of your undercover skills.”

“I think I’ve had enough of undercover work for now. She makes it look easier than it is.”

“Well,” Patrick leaned close and kissed him again. “I wouldn’t mind if you wore those glasses again, just in case you wanted to practice.”

“Hmm, I will definitely keep that in mind. Just in case.”


End file.
